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We all need to talk

The kids are gathered around a campfire.

Everyone, apart from Lara, is getting tired and wants to go to bed.

It seems that Lara is a little bit scared and needs to talk about it with the others.

Experience

Experiences are things that happen to us. Our experiences depend on where we live, what we see and what we do.Your experiences might be very different from the experiences of your friends.

For example, if you live on a farm you might experience how to milk a cow or how to look after goats. You might not have any shops close by, so you might have to travel in a car go to the supermarket. But if you live in a town, you might have a shop close by. You might even be able to walk to school.

Our experiences also depend on the things we have done. You might have travelled on an aeroplane to go on holiday. If you have done this, you will know that you needed a passport and that you were given a seat number on the plane.

Your friend might not have travelled on an aeroplane, but if they have travelled on a train they will know that you have to look at the information board at the station to find out if the train is on time.

One experience is not better than the other, each experience is just different!

Your feelings

Experiences can affect how you feel.

For example, if your pet dies you will feel very sad and upset.

This is quite normal because we all react to our experiences.

If you have ever been on a giant roller coaster, you might have felt a bit scared and nervous before the ride. Afterwards, you might feel really happy that you did it.

When you learn to swim, at first you might feel very nervous in the water. Then, as you practice and get better, you might feel very happy with yourself.

Share with others

It is good to talk about your experiences and share them with others, especially if something has made you feel sad or upset.

When you share your experience with another person, they can help you to feel less sad just by listening and understanding. They might even be able to suggest different ways to feel better.

There is a saying, ‘a problem shared is a problem halved.’ This means that if you share a sad or scary experience, the other person will understand it and you will feel better.

Start at the beginning

When you tell someone about your experience you should start at the beginning and take them step by step through the story.

Remember your experience might be happy, sad, scary or fun - so use words which describe how you feel. This helps the other person to understand the story better.

You might also want to talk about the other people in the story and how they felt or behaved too.

The kids in our story listen as Lara tells them why she is afraid to go to bed.Afterwards, do you think she will be able to go to bed and sleep soundly?

Remember, sharing your experiences doesn’t just help you. It can help your friends too.